Too Faced better than sex

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Hell yea it's pretty! I'll break down my thoughts for you via blogpost, because the video came out a little rant-y. So let's do this!

Packaging: Breathtaking. The packaging is nothing short of spectacular. Amazingly, there are no pictures or videos that have captured the beauty of this palette. In this regards, I am pleasantly surprised and blown away Please keep in mind that your girl sees and has a lot of makeup, so to be blown away nowadays takes a lot, and blown away I was when I opened this magnificent work of art. The top with it's gorgeous marbling and the bottom, with it's understate smoky plastic. Just blown away by the details captured in this little guy. A million thumbs up in this regard.

I didn't edit these pictures since I wanted them up already... so don't be getting offended by that.

Given that I have hooded lids, making me a lover of smoky eyes, I am also allergic to a shiny crease. I only have 4 shades to play with to deepen or to prep that crease for the drama about to go down on the lid. Furthermore, none of these matte shades are a matte black....

I'll repeat that... BLACKOUT... the only reason to ever purchase a Naked 2 palette or spend like $20 on a matte black eye shadow, essentially the one eye shadow that cemented Urban Decay as the smokiest brand in the land, is NOT in this palette...

WTF (not the UD eyeshadow, but rather the exclamation).

Of course they included a black... a Satin Black... Black Market. It's a beautifully formulated shadow, no shimmer just sheen.... but who cares. If you have olive skin-tone (or like me undertones and are pale as hell) and you throw a satin black on your eyes, it needs to be touched by an angel to not look like a dark blue in pictures. (especially next to Armor, my favorite color in here).

Then like a good beauty blogger rule follower, you blend out that crease with Whiskey, which isn't warm enough to create a pretty radiant edge and you finish strong with a HOT MESS.

Satin Black shade... pfft.

(I skip the satin shades, there's a lighter gray, a darker gray, the infamous black, and a purple- I skipped them because I don't care much for them, but the quality is top-notch.)

I could go on and on about this... of all the shades to repeat in here... not repeating Blackout in here makes no sense to me.

The Last Four Shades:

-Beige-toned highlight? No fallout, just gorgeous, High

-Gold-toned shimmer, but when swatched looks more foiled that shimmery,Dirtysweet

-Deeper than Dirtysweet and with a silver reflect shimmer, Radar

-Gunmetal with a silver reflect, Armor

The Shimmer/Foiled Break-down

These are incredible.

You don't need it, but with fix+ they totally intensify.

I love that they are a dry formula so you don't need to worry about upper-crease transfer as much.

Armor- this is worth the palette... I'm exaggerating, but I drool when I swatch this color. OMG. I love ARMOR! It transforms an eyelid with a swipe. (the swatches above are with one direct swipe).

The brush:

I think the evolution of the UD palette brushes are so interesting. They started single-sided and fluffy in the Naked, then double-sided with a fluffy and less fluffy part. (I separate them from the palettes and use them with cream products) Now they're amazing again and resembling more the latest Vice palettes than the old Naked ones. I love the tapered fluffy side for some boss-ass crease work and the tip is amazing for smoking out the lower-lash line or cutting that crease.

Overall:The quality of the shadows is what you would expect from Urban Decay. Smooth, vibrant, somewhat blendable (that is a different blogpost). So the quality is there.As a whole complete palette, it is lacking. Crease work alone, I need some warmth, and BISH, when I'm smoking out these peepers give me some Blackout, puh-lease. (in reviewing the semi-sweet palette I have gone more in depth into what I consider a complete palette, so check that out. )Yea as a whole palette you have to add to it to make it work. For a smoky eye, which isn't so difficult on a brown-eyed gal, this shouldn't be the case!My all-time favorite smoky eye is a matte black soul-less lid with a warm radiating crease around it looking like a halo and lashes... And this palette can't deliver that. (instead I can order, "Shiny hot mess for 1?! K,thanks!")So I haven't edited these photos (as mentioned), but that is the first look I created with the palette (a first impressions if you will). I had to use Mac Saddle up in my crease for added warmth and I used Mac black grape pressed pigment just for fun.What do you think of this new Naked Palette?? I think I'm going to talk about the ABH world traveler's next!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

It's BACK! Werk Series the next episode! So we did skin basics for work, and today I wanted to tackle a super simple, but very powerful, matte smoky eye. This will make anyone look awake and put together in a matter of minutes. It is my hope that this is helpful to someone.

What I love about this eye is that it is super forgiving... for hooded lids, aging skin, beginners, etc.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

I think it's safe to say I have a sick love for a blue-brown pigment. Yea. I love that stuff. This one is no different. I was inspired to use it (finally- I had it sitting in it's package, like a hoarder), after all of the hype around the Mac new shadows. Boom Boom Room is very similar to this one.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

I'm SO excited to start this series on my blog and that you guys are about it! The professional sphere can be tricky and know what's appropriate, what's too much. and what you're comfortable with can be overwhelming. I know for me, I err on the side of looking, acting and being ultra conservative in this world (maybe to excuse my not-so-conservative nature). Nonetheless, these are just suggestions to take and always remember you don't necessarily need so many steps.Trial and error is our best friend.

I started with skin because that was the first thing I needed to get to down when I was starting out in this world. With great looking skin, a girl can get a way with murder!

I hope you enjoy this series and please participate! Different skin types as well so it can become a conversation!

Topics that are coming:

1) Fool-proof eye shadow

2) Fool-proof lips

3) Quick tips to brighten up complexion or your look with minimal effort!